Judge: injunction to halt coliseum demolition still good

But city says appeals court ruling allows continued work

CORPUS CHRISTI - The city of Corpus Christi is moving forward with the demolition of Memorial Coliseum despite a judge’s statement Monday that an injunction still is in effect.

County Court-at-Law Judge James Klager said his order halting demolition remains valid until the 13th Court of Appeals issues a mandate.

“My ruling stands until I get the mandate,” he said.

Mandates typically are issued by the appeals court after the appellate process has been exhausted.

But City Attorney Carlos Valdez said the appeals court ruling last week that reversed Klager’s injunction is enough for the city to continue demolition.

“We’re going by the (13th) Court of Appeals,” he said. “It’s as simple as that.”

Kathy Snapka, an attorney for Friends of the Coliseum, a group trying to preserve the coliseum, said the organization is considering its legal options. Those option include asking the appeals court for a rehearing or petitioning the Texas Supreme Court to take up the matter, she said.

The group has 15 days from the appeals court’s May 6 opinion to ask for a rehearing.

Snapka said the city clearly is violating the Klager’s order.

“The injunction is in effect until a mandate is issued,” Snapka said.

Snapka had argued for a new temporary restraining order to keep demolition crews from working during the appellate process.

Klager made no ruling on that issue because he said his original injunction still was good.

Since Friday, workers have been at the site clearing out asbestos, one of the first steps in the demolition process. Demolishing the coliseum could take 90 to 100 days.

The structural demolition is set to begin Friday, which would include tearing down exterior walls, A&R Demolition Project Manager Vernon Carr said.

That’s one day before the Texas Historical Commission’s state review board is set to discuss the coliseum’s application for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

The board will decide if it meets the architectural and historical significance required for listing.

But commission officials have said a building that is partially demolished and no longer structurally sound won’t be listed.

The designation also wouldn’t protect the building from demolition, but could pave the way for federal and state grant funding for renovation.